While he was only a child at the time, Traz Di Jennik still has flashbacks of the 1980 election in Jamaica when political violence accounted for most of the 800 murders recorded that year.

Crime remains a major problem in the country, with over 1,000 homicides recorded annually by the police since the early 1990s. Traz Di Jennik believes those statistics are frightening and calls for peace on Stop di Crime, his latest song.

“What I’d a love see is for Jamaica to become a disciplined society like Cuba where there is minimum crime. Wi jus’ have too much violence here,” he said.

Although Stop di Crime was recently released, its initial tracks were laid 20 years ago at the home studio of Trevor “Skatta” Bonnick, who co-produced it with Traz Di Jennik and Lydia Campbell, the singjay’s wife.

With 2024 being another year of mayhem in Jamaica, the situation prompted him to write lyrics to the revived rhythm. He calls for stability, especially in inner-city communities.

Traz Di Jennik was born in Kingston and spent his formative years in Maxfield Avenue, one of the most hostile regions leading up to the 1980 polls between the governing People’s National Party and opposition Jamaica Labour Party.

“Mi remember inna 1980, a lot of killing gwaan! Dem time mi was a yute but mi remember a lotta di foolishness,” he said.

Many of Traz Di Jennik’s songs are collaborations with Bonnick, former lead singer of The Bloodfire Posse and current frontman for Inner Circle. His initial singles, recorded as Alkatraz, were released in the early 1990s.

Stop di Crime, which he describes as “mi first anti-crime song”, is the follow-up to Party Nice, which is also a co-production with his wife and Bonnick.

Howard Campbell